Jean Wirth reprend le problème à partir de l'étude philologique des écritures contenues dans le manuscrit et montre qu'il faut attribuer à Villard les pages dont les dessins techniques relatifs à la construction passaient pour l'œuvre d'un continuateur. Connu et exploité par les historiens de l'art et de l'architecture dès le XIXe siècle, il a été considéré comme l'œuvre d'un amateur depuis les années 1970. L'Album de Villard de Honnecourt est le seul document personnel que nous ait laissé un architecte du XIIIe siècle.

This intelligent and detailed study will be a landmark in the rehabilitation of Villard de Honnecourt’s reputation.

An examination of the architect’s travels, the monuments he saw and his stylistic evolution allows for an accurate, corrected chronology of this work, previously considered outdated. Drawings relating to engineering, geometry and stereotomy are treated individually, in order to convey as clearly as possible the technical processes they illustrate. He goes on to provide convincing analyses of the art of drawing and its numerous applications, from drawing from nature to architectural plans. Jean Wirth sheds new light on the question, based on a philological study of the manuscript, and proves that Villard himself is the author of the technical drawings relating to construction. The only document we have by a 13th-century architect, the Album of Villard de Honnecourt has been the subject of writings by art and architectural historians since the 19th century and has been considered the work of an amateur since the 1970s.

Villard de honnecourt cuaderno pdf